Preaching the Truth in Darkness: Caldwell Campus Ministry

 Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040421.cfm “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.” -Psalm 118:24 Today truly is a day for joy and celebration as the Psalm of the day proclaims. Good has conquered evil. Life has conquered death. Joy and peace have conquered sadness and anxiety. The Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, and through His resurrection, we have been granted new life. The gates of the Kingdom of Heaven have been opened to us. Let us also visit the empty tomb that Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John visited on that Easter morning, and be filled with the same joy that they were filled with upon realizing that Christ had truly risen! Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Let us pray this prayer today... Risen Lord, fill me with the peace and joy of the Easter season, and help me to bring this same peace and joy to others who may be suffering from anxiety, sadness, or other hardships.  - Christopher Peltyszen, '22

  The Hermit’s Holy Saturday Silence hangs on the earth. The moon has risen Above the ridge and shoved the clouds aside. Yesterday’s rain has gone. Tonight’s turned frigid Again, as if the winter were a prison, Spring a failed escape. Send me a vision, The hermit prays. Send something. I’m afraid Of all this nothing. He sits and tries to read:  Something strange is happening . His windows glisten With frost and firelight—this, he thinks, is strange, Given the time, when life and death contend. The outcome isn’t clear, at such close range. He knows, but un-remembers. Here at the end Of penance, he stirs the embers. Can he change His life? The fire wanes and will not mend.                                       by Sally Thomas                                     Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry (2020)   So often when those who live in northern or even moderate climates prepare spiritually for Christ’s rising from the dead, nature fails to provide

  Readings for the Day:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040221.cfm Good Friday is a day of repentance and of reflection, but most importantly, it is a day of hope. It was the pain of Jesus’ crucifixion which later led to the joy of his resurrection. In times of darkness, our hope and faith guide us forward, and we are reassured by the promise of eternal life with God. Ben Fernandez, '24 Caldwell University

Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040121-Evening.cfm In choosing a day to share a reflection, I chose April 1st because it is my daughter’s birthday. A truly special date for me. When I chose the date, I didn’t realize it fell on Holy Thursday / The Last Supper / Washing of the feet. I would say a truly special date for Jesus and all of us! Of course, as a lifelong Catholic I knew the readings, but I took this opportunity to discuss them with my sister and my daughter. The themes that came up were SERVICE TO OTHERS and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.   The Gospel says: “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master’, and rightly so, for indeed I am.  If I, therefore, the master and the teacher, have washed your feet,  you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”  SERVICE TO OTHERS and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Washing another’s feet was a very undesirable job and was usually delegated to servants. Even thoug